With the economy rapidly plunging, there is a plethora of “overqualified” candidates available.

Overqualified can be defined as candidates who may have more experience and education than the position requires. These candidates are now willing to work in positions below their skill set at a lower market value. For example, we’re seeing chief financial officers now applying to work as accountants or financial analysts.

Some hiring managers say they are reluctant to hire overqualified candidates because the candidate:

Will be underpaid and soon ask for a salary increase or promotion

Will be underpaid resulting in personal financial issues

Could feel resentful and become a problem employee

May have more experience than the hiring manager, thus causing the hiring manager to feel his/her leadership or position may be threatened

May leave when the market turns around

None of these are solid valid reasons as much as negative thoughts focusing on why not to hire a qualified candidate. Once someone is in a job about six months, he/she usually masters the position. Now that the dot-com boom days are over, there is no evidence that overqualified candidates, once hired, leave for better positions.

Positive Aspects: Why You SHOULD hire overqualified candidates:

In today’s economy, there aren’t jobs available for candidates to move to. Many once healthy industries are now defunct. Candidates who make the transition to new firms say they are sincerely interested in stability and long-term success.

And candidates know that their compensation in prior positions has no bearing on what pay they may receive for a similar position in another firm. If a job is being outsourced, a candidate is more interested in maintaining a working career and a paycheck than quibbling over a salary differential, even if the difference is $20,000 or more. People are grateful for work.

We’re hearing that some companies have cut too many employees. This is an excellent time to hire and round out a team. This is a rare time when so many excellent people with strong skills and advanced degrees are immediately available.

Overqualified candidates are our neighbors. We want to keep people in our community employed. We can’t wait for the government and stimulus packages.

It’s up to you and your company to create jobs and hire today.

There are currently countless outstanding candidates for every open job. More people are in the process of losing their homes. They are eager for meaningful work and a paycheck. If you have a job opening, someone unemployed and available is waiting and ready to go to work for you today.

Let’s keep our economy strong. Let’s Keep America Working!

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Dianne Gubin now offers one-on-one coaching career services. Whether you’re re-entering the workforce or need to brainstorm how to ask for your next raise, we can help.

There is no recession, according to UCLA Anderson Forecast economists in last week’s Los Angeles Times. That’s not to say that certain parts of the country, especially those areas hit by the mortgage crisis or facing job losses due to overseas outsourcing, are not having a tough time. Workers who fell off the employment tracking charts aren’t even registered, but we know that these people are still actively looking for work.

This is a perfect time to hire. There are numerous outstanding professionals available in every industry; hiring managers can no longer claim that there is shortage of good people.

The Internet has made hiring extremely complicated; employers don’t have the time and resources to identify the talent they require. Jobs remain unfilled. Qualified candidates remain unemployed.

Companies have also become overly picky in the hiring process. Unless a candidate has the exact skills to make a lateral move, companies are not interested. Fewer companies are willing to cross train at intermediate or management levels. Learning a new industry is always easier than learning a basic career toolset, such as sales, accounting, human resources, or niches within IT.

For certain positions, degrees-and now advanced degrees-are required. The same person, who 20 years ago needed a high school diploma, now needs an M.B.A. degree to be hired for the same position. Candidates without degrees are often bypassed regardless of relative industry experience. For example, an Internet Marketing Specialist, considered one of the top in the industry, was recently rejected by Microsoft and Yahoo for full-time employment. This Internet Marketing Specialist had raised a family during her early 20s, the time when her peers earned their degrees.

We know that the cost of living has increased. The key is economic development. This means keeping our country at full employment capacity. Experts from the UCLA study predict that the economy will slowly pick itself up, but certainly not fast enough to employ everyone who is currently without a job.

When you speak with people who are out of work, you hear the desperation as they struggle to take any paying position to stay afloat. For those who are unemployed, finding a job becomes a full-time, non-revenue-producing slog through the Internet. To compound the issue, those who work at all levels in volatile industries, such as construction, finance, or manufacturing, fear potentially losing their jobs. These people pull back from spending money. Our overall economy slows.

We can jump on the band wagon of the recession, or we can choose as individual hiring managers within corporations, to hire and promote economic development within communities.

December is an awesome time to either hire for your team or take the time to look for a new job.

One of our clients has over 16,000 positions available across the country. This is one client and only one company. The possibilities are endless.

If your company requires multiple panel interview, perhaps there is an easier process. Consider input from the team; however, you might consider identifying one person who can make the ultimate hiring decision. Your company will become more empowered.

No one has a crystal ball on how a new employee will work out. If you hesitate to hire, try the contract-for-hire model. Start the candidate as a consultant and if it does work out for both parties, make an offer in the future.

We’re seeing candidates in IT, Engineering, and Accounting receiving multiple offers. Good candidates vanish quickly. If you’re hiring, make a quick decision and you’ll have a fresh team to start in January. Your projects will get done and ultimately, you’ll receive higher accolades.

Considering a career change? There are fewer people actively looking in December. Your resume will stand-out.